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The US Preventive Services Task
Force could soon recommend that HIV testing become routine in medical settings,
according to health officials close to the panel, speaking on condition of
anonymity. Under the 2010 federal health reform law, health insurers must fully
cover preventive services that USPSTF recommends. The recommendation is
expected to be open for public comment before the year ends.
“It still will take culture change
for medical providers, but this will be a tremendous leap,” said Michael
Kharfen, chief of community outreach with the District of Columbia’s Department
of Health.
USPSTF weighed issues around HIV
testing in 2005 but did not recommend widespread screening, leaving it up to
physicians. Since then, however, studies have shown that early HIV treatment
improves patients’ health and life expectancy, and it cuts the risk of
transmission by 96 percent.
“We did not find that evidence at
that time compelling enough to say that we were confident that more people
would benefit than the people who had HIV detected,” said Dr. Michael LeFevre,
USPSTF’s co-chair. “Obviously that was seven years ago,” and the new data will
be taken into consideration, he said.
In 2006, CDC recommended that
everyone ages 13-64 be tested for HIV at least once.
Expanding HIV testing to the general
population would cost $27 billion over a 20-year period, one Stanford
University study estimated. One-time universal testing followed by annual
testing in high-prevalence areas could prevent an estimated 212,000 infections.
Adding HIV testing to routine blood work would cost $1.50 per patient.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
